Children's Effortful Control Research Articles

Stressful family environments and children's behavioral control: A multimethod test and replication study with twins.

Young children's behavioral control predicts a broad range of developmental outcomes in child- and adulthood. It is therefore important to study how individual differences in behavioral control arise. Previous studies suggest that there are both genetic and environmental influences, which were estimated in the current study using a sample of mono- and dizygotic same-sex twins. Furthermore, we examined the associations between indicators of a stressful family environment like household chaos, parenting daily hassles, and parental depressive symptoms and children's behavioral control in 2 samples. Children of the same twin pair were randomly divided over 2 samples; a test (N = 201, 48.3% boys, M age 46.53 months) and replication sample (N = 201, 49.8% boys, M age 46.06 months). Both parents reported on their children's effortful control via the Child Behavior Questionnaire and children's cheating behavior was observed during a throwing game. We found that AE models fitted the data for effortful control (A = 31%, E = 69%) and cheating (A = 16%, E = 84%) best. Path analyses revealed that children of parents experiencing more parenting daily hassles and depressive symptoms had lower levels of effortful control in the test sample. Furthermore, we found that children growing up in more chaotic households (parent report) had an increased risk of being in the cheating group versus the possible intention to cheat group in the test sample. These results were partially replicated. We suggest that the role of stressful family environments in the development of behavioral control should be considered when setting up prevention and intervention programs targeting children's behavioral control. (PsycINFO Database Record

Parenting differentially influences the development of boys' and girls' inhibitory control.

Effortful control (EC) has important implications for children's development. While both child sex and parenting are related to child EC, and while a literature shows early sex differences in children's responses to care, interactions between care and child sex in predicting EC are not well understood. We therefore examined associations between child sex and early caregiving as predictors of children's development of a specific aspect of EC, inhibitory control (IC). A community sample of 406 three-year-old children and their caregivers completed behavioural tasks and observational measures of parenting and IC, and children were re-assessed for IC at age 5. Results showed that early care influenced change in IC over time, although caregiving was a more important influence on boys' IC than girls; specifically, differences in boys' and girls' IC at age 5 were modest when parenting was positive. The implications of a better understanding of sex differences in associations between parenting and the development of IC in early childhood are discussed. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? While sex differences in reactivity to early care in the development of externalizing symptoms have been explored, very little is known about such differences in children's early-emerging effortful control. What does this study add? Using a longitudinal design and independent, laboratory methods of assessing study constructs, we provide new information showing that early care appears to differentially influence boys' development of inhibitory control, a key aspect of effortful control, in early childhood.

Effortful control, task persistence, and reading skills

The present study aimed to explore the shared and unique variance of children's effortful control and task persistence as rated by mothers and language teachers, and to investigate their associations with reading skills. Overall, 732 sixth-grade children (52% boys) from 57 classes participated in the study. Bifactor models fit the data best, showing that effortful control and task persistence, as measured by widely-used questionnaires, have not only a great amount of shared variance which is explained by the common Effortful-Control factor, but also some unique variance explained by specific factors. The parent- and teacher-rated common Effortful-Control factor and unique Task-Persistence factor were both positively associated with reading skills. In contrast, the Inhibitory-Control-specific factor was negatively associated with reading skills. The results suggest that latent variables, rather than composite scores, should be used when employing questionnaires to measure these constructs.

The Role of Maternal and Child Characteristics in Chinese Children's Dietary Intake Across Three Groups.

To examine whether mothers' early-life food insecurity (ELFI), pressuring to eat feeding practices (PEP), and child effortful control (EC) are associated with child dietary intake within and across three Chinese ethnic groups. Participants included 119 Chinese international immigrants in the United States, 230 urban nonmigrant, and 468 rural-to-urban migrant mothers and preschoolers in China. Mothers reported on their ELFI, PEP, and their children's EC and dietary intake. Controlling for maternal and child body mass index, age, and gender, multiple group path analyses revealed that maternal ELFI was positively associated with PEP in all groups, which in turn was positively associated with child unhealthy diet in all groups, but negatively associated with child fruits and vegetables (F&V) consumption in the urban nonmigrant group only. Also, EC was positively associated with child F&V diet for all groups. Moreover, the indirect effect of ELFI on children's unhealthy diet through PEP was significant only for immigrant children with lower levels of EC, but not those with higher levels of EC. Our findings highlighted the long-lasting effect of mothers' ELFI on their feeding and child eating. Mothers' pressuring to eat played a central role in the association between their past experiences and children's diet. Also, children's poor EC abilities might exacerbate the adverse effect of mothers' ELFI through PEP, resulting in more unhealthy eating. These findings can contribute to the design of contextually based intervention/prevention programs that promote young children's healthy eating through maternal feeding practices and children's EC abilities.

The Effects of Child Maltreatment From Parents on Reactive Aggression Among Upper-Elementary-School Students and the Moderating Role of Effortful Control

Objective: This study examined the influences of child maltreatment and effortful control on reactive aggression among upper-elementary-school students and investigated whether children’s effortful control had any moderating effects on the relationship between child maltreatment and reactive aggression. Methods: The participants of this study consisted of 438 students (225 boys and 213 girls) from four elementary schools located in Seoul, Incheon, and the Gyeonggi Province. The level of reactive aggression was assessed via the Peer Conflict Scale (Marsee, Kimonis, & Frick, 2004). The Child Trauma Questionnaire (Bernstein & Fink, 1998) was used to measure the level of child maltreatment from parents. Effortful control was measured by the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire—Revised (Ellis & Rothbart, 2001). The statistical analyses of data for this study included descriptive statistics and hierarchical regressions. The moderating effect of effortful control was analyzed by using the procedures proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986). Results: The results of this study indicate that the level of child maltreatment increases the level of reactive aggression and that the level of effortful control decreases the level of reactive aggression for boys and girls. In addition, effortful control only moderated the influence of maltreatment on reactive aggression for girls. Conclusion: Higher levels of child maltreatment led to lower levels of child effortful control and (subsequently) higher levels of reactive aggression.

Effortful control and school adjustment: The moderating role of classroom chaos

Guided by the person by environment framework, the primary goal of this study was to determine whether classroom chaos moderated the relation between effortful control and kindergarteners' school adjustment. Classroom observers reported on children's (N=301) effortful control in the fall. In the spring, teachers reported on classroom chaos and school adjustment outcomes (teacher-student relationship closeness and conflict, and school liking and avoidance). Cross-level interactions between effortful control and classroom chaos predicting school adjustment outcomes were assessed. A consistent pattern of interactions between effortful control and classroom chaos indicated that the relations between effortful control and the school adjustment outcomes were strongest in high chaos classrooms. Post-hoc analyses indicated that classroom chaos was associated with poor school adjustment when effortful control was low, suggesting that the combination of high chaos and low effortful control was associated with the poorest school outcomes.

The role of sleep in the relation between young children's mobile media use and effortful control.

We explored the relations among young children's mobile media use, sleep, and a form of self-regulation, temperamental effortful control (EC), among a national sample of 402 mothers who completed an online survey. We found that the relation between mobile media use and EC was moderated by children's sleep time. Tablet use was negatively related to EC only among children who slept less at night (40% of our sample). However, hand-held game player use was positively related to EC among children who slept longer at night (60% of our sample). In addition, sleep quality was a mediator in the relation between evening tablet use and EC. Evening use related to later bedtimes, more bedtime resistance, and worse sleep duration, and these indicators of poor sleep quality, in turn, predicted weaker EC. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Young children are spending increasing amounts of time with mobile media, such as tablets and hand-held game players. Media exposure is related to children's self-regulation. Media exposure is related to children's sleep quality. What does this study adds? Number of sleep hours moderates the relation between mobile media use and EC among young children. Tablet time is negatively related to EC among young children who get fewer sleep hours. Hand-held game playing is positively related to EC among young children who get greater sleep hours. Sleep quality mediates the relation between evening tablet time and EC among young children.

Children's Transition to School: Relationships Between Preschool Attendance, Cortisol Patterns, and Effortful Control

Aims: To determine whether distinct trends can exist in children's diurnal cortisol slopes as they transition to school, and the extent to which these trends relate to preschool attendance and/or exerted effortful control. Method: A secondary analysis of the anonymised data gathered for the UK Transition to School Study was carried out. 105 children were studied over a 12-month period during transition to school at mean age 55 months. Children's diurnal cortisol slopes were measured as the difference between average salivary cortisol concentrations (SCC) sampled at waking and early evening over two days at each of three measurement time points: 4 months before, 2 weeks after, and 6 months after school entry. Children's effortful control was measured at 2 weeks after school entry using the parent-administered Child Behavior Questionnaire. Parental questionnaires recorded the duration children spent in preschool (months; days per week; hours per week), and four background characteristics: child gender, parental cohabitation, responding parent's age, and responding parent's level of education. Findings: Latent class growth analysis suggested two distinct trends in diurnal cortisol slopes during children's transition to school: 39% of children demonstrated flatter diurnal cortisol slopes. These children were likely to have spent fewer hours per week in preschool, and were likely to exert less effortful control 2 weeks after transitioning to school. These associations underscore the importance of continuity in children's daily routines as they transition to school. Implications are discussed concerning school readiness and the effectiveness of early interventions.

Associations among prenatal stress, maternal antioxidant intakes in pregnancy, and child temperament at age 30 months.

Prenatal stress and prenatal nutrition each have demonstrable impact on fetal development, with implications for child neurodevelopment and behavior. However, few studies have examined their joint influences despite evidence of potential interactive effects. We examined associations among prenatal stress, prenatal antioxidant intakes, and child temperament in a sociodemographically diverse pregnancy cohort (N=137 mother-child dyads). In mid-pregnancy, mothers completed an assessment of recent negative life events as a measure of prenatal stress and an assessment of prenatal diet. When the children were 30 months of age, mothers completed the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire-Very Short form, which provides scores on child Negative Affectivity, Effortful Control, and Surgency/Extraversion. Linear regressions tested associations between maternal prenatal negative life events and child temperament, and effect modification by maternal prenatal antioxidant intakes (vitamins A, C, and E, magnesium, zinc, selenium, β-carotene). Analyses revealed that increased maternal prenatal negative life events were associated with higher child Negative Affectivity (β=0.08, P=0.009) but not with child Effortful Control (β=-0.03, P=0.39) or Surgency/Extraversion (β=0.04, P=0.14). Prenatal intakes of zinc and selenium modified this effect: Maternal exposure to prenatal negative life events was associated with higher child Negative Affectivity in the presence of lower intakes of zinc and selenium. Modification effects approached significance for vitamins A and C. The results suggest that the combination of elevated stress exposures and lower antioxidant intakes in pregnancy increases the likelihood of heightened child temperamental negative affectivity. Increased antioxidant intakes during pregnancy may protect against influences of prenatal stress on child temperament.

Associations Between Parenting Styles and Perceived Child Effortful Control Within Chinese Families in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan.

The current study examined the associations between parentally perceived child effortful control (EC) and the parenting styles of 122 Chinese mothers (36 first-generation Chinese immigrants in the United Kingdom, 40 first-generation Chinese immigrants in the United States, and 46 Taiwanese mothers) of 5- to 7-year-old (M age = 5.82 years, SD = .805; 68 boys and 54 girls) children. The findings showed significant cultural group differences in mothers’ reported authoritarian parenting style. Significant associations also emerged between mothers’ reports of their children’s EC and some parenting dimensions, although there were no cultural group differences in perceived child EC. Different patterns of associations between perceived child EC and parenting styles in these three groups also demonstrated heterogeneity within the Chinese population, and highlighted the need to consider differences between original and receiving societies when seeking to understand parenting and child development in different immigrant groups.

Coparenting Conflict and Academic Readiness in Children of Teen Mothers: Effortful Control as a Mediator

Children's exposure to coparenting conflict has important implications for their developmental functioning, yet limited work has focused on such processes in families with diverse structures or ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds. This longitudinal study examined the processes by which Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' coparenting conflict with their 3-year-old children's grandmothers and biological fathers (N=133 families) were linked to children's academic and social skills at 5years of age, and whether children's effortful control at 4years of age mediated the link between coparenting conflict and indices of children's academic readiness. Findings revealed that adolescent mothers' coparenting conflict with their child's biological father was linked to indices of children's academic and social school readiness through children's effortful control among girls, but not boys, whereas conflict with grandmothers was directly linked to boys' and girls' social functioning 2years later. Findings offer information about different mechanisms by which multiple coparenting units in families of adolescent mothers are related to their children's outcomes, and this work has important implications for practitioners working with families of adolescent mothers.

Trajectories of child externalizing problems between ages 3 and 10 years: Contributions of children's early effortful control, theory of mind, and parenting experiences.

Preventing problem behavior requires an understanding of earlier factors that are amenable to intervention. The main goals of our prospective longitudinal study were to trace trajectories of child externalizing behavior between ages 3 and 10 years, and to identify patterns of developmentally significant child and parenting risk factors that differentiated pathways of problem behavior. Participants were 218 3-year-old boys and girls who were reassessed following the transition to kindergarten (age 5-6 years) and during the late school-age years (age 10). Mothers contributed ratings of children's externalizing behavior at all three time points. Children's self-regulation abilities and theory of mind were assessed during a laboratory visit, and parenting risk (frequent corporal punishment and low maternal warmth) was assessed using interview-based and questionnaire measures. Four developmental trajectories of externalizing behavior yielded the best balance of parsimony and fit with our longitudinal data and latent class growth analysis. Most young children followed a pathway marked by relatively low levels of symptoms that continued to decrease across the school-age years. Atypical trajectories marked chronically high, increasing, and decreasing levels of externalizing problems across early and middle childhood. Three-year-old children with low levels of effortful control were far more likely to show the chronic pattern of elevated externalizing problems than changing or low patterns. Early parental corporal punishment and maternal warmth, respectively, differentiated preschoolers who showed increasing and decreasing patterns of problem behavior compared to the majority of children. The fact that children's poor effortful regulation skills predicted chronic early onset problems reinforces the need for early childhood screening and intervention services.

It's OK to Fail: Individual and Dyadic Regulatory Antecedents of Mastery Motivation in Preschool.

Mastery motivation is closely related to children's regulatory processes and is socialized by parents. However, we know little about how individual child and dyadic parent-child regulatory processes work together to foster the early development of mastery motivation in preschool. The present study examined dyadic persistence in parent-child interactions, children's effortful control, and children's successful versus failed attempts in a challenging object mastery task at age 3.5 years and their prediction of teacher ratings of object-oriented and social mastery motivation in preschool at a 4-month follow-up (N = 100). Path analytic models revealed that greater dyadic persistence during parent-child interactions predicted children's higher levels of social mastery. A greater rate of both successful and failed attempts at a challenging task predicted children's higher levels of object mastery. However, failed attempts were positively related to concurrent individual and dyadic regulatory measures, whereas successful attempts were not. Findings suggest that parent-child coregulation makes a significant contribution to mastery motivation development and that there may be distinct antecedents for object-oriented versus social forms of mastery motivation. Findings also suggest that a child's early ability to persist in the face of failure may be an important predictor of mastery motivation in preschool.

A prospective study of adolescent mothers’ social competence, children's effortful control and compliance and children's subsequent developmental outcomes

AbstractPrevious work has established that caregiver and child temperamental characteristics are associated with child compliance. Given the critical role that parents play in this process, and that children of teen mothers are at risk for poorer developmental outcomes, it is important to understand the development of compliance in the context of at‐risk parenting such as adolescent motherhood. The current study examined child compliance (Wave 5; W5) as a mediator of the association between adolescent mothers’ social competence (Wave 4; W4) and children's behavioral and academic outcomes (Wave 6; W6), and whether this mediation varied depending on children's effortful control (W4) in a sample of 204 Mexican‐origin adolescent mothers (Mage at W4 = 19.94, SD = .99) and their children (Mage at W4 = 36.21 months, SD = .45). Adolescent mothers reported on their own social competence and their children's effortful control and externalizing problems; compliance was assessed using observational methods; and academic readiness was assessed using standardized developmental assessments. Findings based on structural equation modeling revealed that adolescent mothers’ social competence was positively related to children's compliance among children with high effortful control, but not among those with low effortful control. Moreover, child compliance mediated the longitudinal association between adolescent mothers’ social competence and child externalizing problems and academic readiness. Discussion focuses on the importance of considering the role of child temperament in understanding how adolescent mothers’ social competence is subsequently associated with children's social and academic adjustment.

Internalizing problems in a sample of Romanian preschool children. Contributions of both child and maternal temperament along with family functioning

ABSTRACTInternalizing problems are among the most common chronic psychological dysfunctions in childhood, yet the factors contributing to their emergence and persistence in preschool-aged children are still less understood. The contribution of specific individual variables (e.g. temperament), and that of proximal environmental factors, such as family environment, recently gained attention. The present study investigated the joint contributions of child and maternal temperament (specifically, Negative Affectivity and Effortful Control), respectively family functioning, to the development of internalizing problems in a sample of 50 Romanian preschoolers. We assessed these variables of interest with maternal reports. Both child Negative Affectivity and Effortful Control significantly contributed to internalizing problems. Maternal temperamental factors moderated the relation between child Effortful Control and internalizing problems. Maladaptive family functioning appeared to be a partial mediator of the relation between maternal Negative Affectivity and child internalizing behaviours.

Pediatric Cancer Patients' Treatment-Related Distress and Longer-Term Anxiety: An Individual Differences Perspective.

Although distress during treatment procedures and longer-term treatment-related anxiety are among the most common cancer-related stressors for children and their families, they are not invariant. This study examined whether individual differences in temperament and personality play a role in how children respond to treatment procedures. Attention control, a facet of the effortful control dimension of temperament, and the personality attribute ego-resilience were hypothesized to predict lower levels of distress during procedures. Moreover, ego-resilience and distress during procedures were hypothesized to account for indirect associations between attention control and longer-term treatment-related anxiety. Child gender was examined as a potential moderator of these relationships. Participants were 147 children undergoing treatment for pediatric cancer and their parents. At baseline, parents reported on children's effortful control and ego-resilience. Multiple raters assessed children's distress during multiple cancer-related procedures. Treatment-related anxiety was measured 3 and 9 months after the last assessed treatment procedure. Attention control was linked to ego-resilience and lower levels of distress, and these variables, in turn, accounted for indirect associations between attention control and treatment-related anxiety. Associations involving ego-resilience were stronger for boys than girls. Attention control plays an important role in children's immediate and longer-term responses to cancer-related medical procedures. Medical staff should consider individual differences in child temperament and personality when considering the nature and extent of support to provide to pediatric cancer patients and their families.

The Long-Term Effectiveness of the Family Check-up on Peer Preference: Parent-Child Interaction and Child Effortful Control as Sequential Mediators.

We examined the longitudinal effects of the Family Check-Up (FCU) intervention beginning in toddlerhood on children's peer preference at school-age. Specifically, a sequential mediational model was proposed in which the FCU was hypothesized to promote peer preference (i.e., higher acceptance and lower rejection by peers) in middle childhood through its positive effects on parent-child interaction and child effortful control in early childhood. Participants were 731 low-income families (49% female). Qualities of parent-child interaction were observed during structured activities at 2 to 5years, child effortful control was assessed using behavioral tasks at 5years, and peer acceptance and rejection were rated by teachers at 7.5 to 10.5years. Results indicated that the FCU indirectly predicted peer preference by sequentially improving parent-child interaction and child effortful control. The findings are discussed with respect to implications for understanding mechanisms by which early parenting-focused programs may enhance child functioning across time and context.

Parenting and the development of effortful control from early childhood to early adolescence: A transactional developmental model.

Poor effortful control is a key temperamental factor underlying behavioral problems. The bidirectional association of child effortful control with both positive parenting and negative discipline was examined from ages approximately 3 to 13-14 years, involving five time points, and using data from parents and children in the Oregon Youth Study-Three Generational Study (N = 318 children from 150 families). Based on a dynamic developmental systems approach, it was hypothesized that there would be concurrent associations between parenting and child effortful control and bidirectional effects across time from each aspect of parenting to effortful control and from effortful control to each aspect of parenting. It was also hypothesized that associations would be more robust in early childhood, from ages 3 to 7 years, and would diminish as indicated by significantly weaker effects at the older ages, 11-12 to 13-14 years. Longitudinal feedback or mediated effects were also tested. The findings supported (a) stability in each construct over multiple developmental periods; (b) concurrent associations, which were significantly weaker at the older ages;

Bidirectional Relations Between Temperament and Parenting Predicting Preschool-Age Children’s Adjustment

Bidirectional associations between child temperament (fear, frustration, positive affect, effortful control) and parenting behaviors (warmth, negativity, limit setting, scaffolding, responsiveness) were examined as predictors of preschool-age children’s adjustment problems and social competence. Participants were a community sample of children (N = 306; 50% female, 64% European American) and their mothers. Observational measures of child temperament and parenting were obtained using laboratory tasks at two time points (children’s ages 36 and 54 months). Teacher-reported adjustment measures were collected at the first and third time points (children’s ages 36 and 63 months). Cross-lagged analyses were performed to examine whether child temperament and parenting predict changes in one another, whether they each contribute independently to children’s adjustment, and whether these transactional relations account for adjustment outcomes. Maternal negativity at 36 months predicted increases in child frustration at 54 months. Maternal negativity and child effortful control predicted decreases in each other from 36 to 54 months. Maternal warmth predicted increases in child effortful control over time. Child frustration, child effortful control, maternal warmth, and maternal negativity at 54 months each independently predicted child adjustment problems at 63 months, controlling for problems at 36 months. Child executive control at 54 months predicted increases in child social competence at 63 months. The findings suggest that temperament and parenting have independent and additive effects on preschool-age child adjustment, with some support for a bidirectional relation.

Family instability and children's effortful control in the context of poverty: Sometimes a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Effortful control has been demonstrated to have important ramifications for children's self-regulation and social-emotional adjustment. However, there are wide socioeconomic disparities in children's effortful control, with impoverished children displaying heightened difficulties. The current study was designed to demonstrate how instability within the proximal rearing context of young children may serve as a key operant on the development of children's effortful control in the context of poverty. Two separate studies were conducted that included samples of children living within homes characterized by heightened economic risk. In Study 1, we tested the differential prediction of family instability on two domains of children's effortful control: cool effortful control and delay control. Consistent with hypotheses, elevated instability was associated with decreased hot effortful control but not cool effortful control over the span of 2 years. In Study 2, we examined how children's basal cortisol activity may account for associations between heightened instability and effortful control in reward tasks. The results were consistent with sensitization models, suggesting that elevated cortisol activity arising from increased uncertainty and unpredictability in rearing contexts may influence children's hot effortful control. The findings are interpreted within emerging evolutionary-developmental frameworks of child development.